Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise in Clinical Trial

A recent CNBC article contained good news on the cancer-fighting front. An experimental cancer vaccine showed signs of success in clinical trials conducted on 11 lymphoma patients. The vaccine isn’t preventative like the flu shot; it is used on people who already have cancer.

In the trial, researchers injected a tumor with a stimulant that recruited immune cells and then treated the tumor with a low dose of radiation. Next, they activated the immune cells by injecting the tumor with a stimulant. These activated immune cells then travel throughout the body and kill any tumor they encounter.

The treatment sent three of the eleven patients into remission by treating not only the injected tumor, but also other tumors throughout the body. The results were promising enough to warrant larger trials before the treatment is submitted to the FDA for review.